Tag: Handmade Christmas

Jacob’s Update…

So here’s an update on where I’m up to with my Jacob’s Ladder Quilt…

All hand-quilting stitches have gone bye-bye and the quilt (along with my sanity and comfort) said a delightful ‘Hello!’ to my sewing machine and walking foot!

I spent a good three to four days quilting  – not surprising, as this quilt is a beast of a size! Here are some waves of quilty goodness!

And a snap shot of the finished quilting…

I’ve got to the stage where I just need to stitch the binding to the back of the quilt, label it and then, ta-dah!, it’ll be all finished! Yay!!

 However, that glorious day won’t be in the near future as I’ve dived head first into getting all of my Christmas presents made etc.  After the hectic-ness of Christmas is over, I’ll get right back into finishing my Jacob Quilt – It really has been the most patient quilt in the world and I love it more because of it!

Once finished, I’ll need to chuck it into the wash as it’s covered in dirty paw prints (thanks Lucy!) as well as sticky jam patches courtesy of little nephew fingers!

Mentioning Christmas: with only 27 days now until the big day, I’m on a slow roll to getting gifts prepared, made and finished.

Handmade Christmas cards are complete,

Mum & Dad’s present almost finished…

and only today I’ve begun work on some very special softies for my nephews! (Hopefully this shot doesn’t give too much away!!)

 I can’t wait to share them with you – I’m planning a few blog posts for the beginning of next year documenting my process as well as the gifts I’ve made for everyone… So be on the look out for that in January 2013!

Last Friday I received the last of the prizes I won for first place in the How Does Your Garden Grow? Quilt Competition – a brand new sewing machine…

It’s somewhat the same model of machine as the one I already have – it’s just cosmetically a little different.

Not to seem ungrateful for winning such an awesome prize, but I’m in two minds whether I like it or not. You see, I’ve grown such a huge attachment and sentimental feeling towards my old sewing machine that I found it quite hard to make myself pack it away and then unbox this sweet little beauty in it’s place.  I’ve made some really beautiful quilts on my old sewing machine – Jacob’s Ladder being it’s last (!!) and taught myself new and exciting techniques (as well as failing miserably in a few others). I would sit down in front of it with greedy pursuits and selfless projects and it would always be wonderfully loyal and trustworthy to get everything finished to my picky satisfaction!

And yet, I must admit, this new sewing machine does purr quite sweetly when it’s sewing along compared to my old machine, which would admit a loud chugga-chugga as I sewed along… It’s the same pretty pink and I’m sure will handle my quilting adventures with the same strength and gutsiness as my old one…

Oh well…I suppose I should just get over myself and be humbly thankful for receiving a NEW high-tech sewing machine for FREE!!

Happy Sewing! xx

Handmade Christmas Pledge!

To begin, I thought I’d share some beautiful spring flowers from our garden – I absolutely adore their rich yummy colour!

It’s a grey drizzly day here in the western suburbs of Sydney – perfect whether for a blog update and perhaps a few wonderful hours spent creating with my sewing machine…

I’ve been busily continuing to sew up more Union Jack blocks, in preparation for a new quilt to be made next year.

I’m hoping to make something similar to this quilt- as made by talented quilter Amy Smart @ Diary of a Quilter ~ click here for her blog post about this quilt ~ & click here for the link to the original quilt design by Busy Bee Quilt Designs: Victory Garden.

I’m not sure how many blocks I’ll make – I’ll possibly keep going until I become thoroughly sick of making the same block over and over again! At the moment I’m having too much fun mixing and matching different colours and prints with mixed results…

This week’s embroidery comes from an applique design I found in one of Cath Kidston’s books – Make! – the pattern is called Antique Rose, a classic design of hers and is one of my all time favourites!

An update on my Jacob’s Ladder Quilt: All hand quilting has come to a dramatic stop – it’s been abandoned; sadly crumpled up on an unused armchair on the opposite side of my sewing room.

The reason for this is…well…is mainly because I can’t be bothered to stitch any more of it. There, I said it! It’s a terrible terrible excuse…but the quilt is just so big that I can’t see myself finishing it in the near future. I admit I chose the wrong thing to begin my first attempt at hand quilting – but hey, I still learnt something new; I openly made mistakes and I’ve learnt from them. Remember: always start small when attempting a new technique and work your way up from there!

My impatience is also a driving force to get the quilt finished. I just want to snuggle underneath it and to wrap my nephews up in it when we’re watching a movie as well as to add a burst of welcome colour to rooms it will reside in.

So it’s back to the drawing board for Jacob’s Ladder – I’ll unpick all my handmade stitches (there’s not that many) and I’ll re-baste and iron it all the while figuring out the best way to machine quilt it…

So as I’m currently an unemployed university student, funds are unfortunately low…boohoo! But, this is the perfect excuse to pledge my promise to making this coming Christmas season a handmade one. Everything I give this year will be handmade by yours truly! This includes the presents, wrapping paper and cards/tags.  The wonderful ladies at The Makery over in the UK gave this spark of inspiration to me– they’re a great little organisation that offers all types of crafty/sewing classes, providing a wonderful sense of creative inspiration to their community!

I’ve got a few ideas up my sleeve of what to make, starting with a sweet little embroidery I’ve designed myself. Here’s sneaky peek…

So with only 40 days until Christmas, I’m pretty confident I can pull it off (don’t quote me on that!) and give out some pretty nifty gifts to my loved ones. Hopefully too, a sense of appreciation and thankfulness will come alive as only a handmade gift can do.

Happy Sewing!! xx